#elisa youre so relatable

[femsolid]

"Feminists have long avoided putting too much emphasis on the biological differences between men and women, knowing that these will be used against us to classify us as inferior. In doing so, we have painted ourselves into a corner, accepting a politics which continues to regard male-bodied people as the default humans while downplaying the equally important experiences of female-bodied people. We have fallen victim to a patriarchal protection racket, which promised us the right to be considered as something more than walking wombs in exchange for the denial of our existence as a sex class, in much the same way we were promised sexual autonomy and reproductive choice in exchange for waiving any objections to hardcore pornography and the growth of the sex trade. In both instances, men have got what they wanted without delivering their side of the bargain, but still we wait. We don’t want to make a fuss, because to do so would only draw attention to the fact that we remain female, after all. This is gender equality conceived of as a polite lie: men agree to overlook our quite obvious "female inferiority", in return for which we ease up on the demands relating to actual sex differences. As the protagonist of Elisa Albert’s 2015 novel After Birth puts it, ‘Heaven forbid it might be true that female bodies are different [. . .] Because, what? We might lose the vote? Because we might get veiled, imprisoned? Best deny it, deny it, make it to the Oval Office, win, win, win.’ And yet, as we know from 2016, we don’t make it to the Oval Office anyhow.

Meanwhile, older mothers, menopausal women, those with longer back stories, are less willing to pretend sex differences don’t matter, and are terrible at keeping quiet about it. The longer you live in a female body, the harder it is to deny its impact on your position in the world. We are encouraged to believe that any serious acknowledgement of sex difference and why it matters – and particularly any recognition of qualities which female people possess which male people lack – will lead to backlash, but once we examine what female bodies do over the course of female lifecycles, the difference between their socially constructed low status and their actual worth could not be clearer. Ageing can mean the shift from ‘I will be treated badly if I am overly identified with what my (shameful) female body can do’ to ‘My (brilliant) female body did all this, and still I get treated this way?’"

- Hags by Victoria Smith

[shutyourfacemonsterlover]

There's an element in many BATB stories that I feel goes a little unnoticed by the general audiences, and it's something lost in the year of white feminism / pearl clutching / Buzzfeed media analysis, that categorizes these stories as "problematic" and in that...when you strip these stories down, these stories are about disabled people finding humanity. Abuse survivors attempting to gain control of life after years of trauma.

I mean it's a bit obvious, but you take out the allegory, the fantastical elements...the Beast is disabled, in a way, that their physical functions can't allow them to function in society.

Like, even Quasimodo is mute. the fantasy isn't even that dense some times lol.

Their abusers (and often the true villains) are often figures in power: parents, religious leaders, politicians...Precisely the type of people in reality that mistreat the disabled in the first place, from abusing at home to passing laws in society that invalidate and downright exterminate their existence.

Like, there's no coinicidence why a lot of these stories shaped the horror genre. and how both genres attract a lot of neurodivergent or queer fans.

So to see these stories being transformed to be thought of "ew creepy incel nice guys" fantasies is so tone deaf. Men dont fantasize being ugly, traumatized and living isolated by society, fam. they like imagining themselves being either the Luke Skywalkers or the world or the Darth Vaders, lol. Something active and with power. (And why Fr*llo in Hunchback isn't the same- he has power and represents society, but that's a talk for another day)

And if you think disabled, deformed, neurodivergent people aren't mistreated, mocked or osctracized anymore...like girl what fairytale you livin' in. i want in lol.

And why these stories hit stronger when the Beast was born a monster (or deformed as a child), instead of a relatively "normal" man committing an accident (but that's just me). Life can be cruel to you just for something you can't control, and a lifetime of pain changes you, not often for the good, but it's real. (and also why that mantra of "abuse turns you kind" can be very very dangerous talk, not all victims respond the same to trauma)

And that's also why BATB adaptations where the Beauty also is an outcast herself (Elisa, Entrapta, Dea, modern adaptations of Esmeralda), and can relate to the Beast's alienation, hit stronger in my eyes. Because compassion is often the key to these stories, and well, who understands your pain better than somebody who's gone through the same thing? (and also why "female monster"-type characters are also very fascinating to read about but also rarer to see ).

[honey-minded-hivemind]

For the X-Men/Gargoyles AU (where the X-Men are set in a Gargoyles-esque universe, but they take the place of those characters), I think I've figured out the new dynamics. This is different from the Gargoyles series, because trying to fit a few X-Men into one character's place was very difficult. So what did I do? Changed it around a bit.

Let's look at it this way:

Logan/Wolverine and Ororo/Storm take the place of Goliath, being a couple or good friends, while Victor/Sabretooth and Raven/Mystique take the place of Demona. So each pair is a friend to the other or a sibling, but aren't romantic. So, Logan and Victor are brothers, Ororo and Raven are sisters, but Logan and Ororo are really good friends or mates, and Victor and Raven are really good friends or mates. Take your pick.

Xavier becomes David Xanatos, and Magneto becomes a mix of Owen Burnett/Puck and Fox, and surprise, they're reincarnated gargoyles this go (which wasn't in the show, but this is my au, so it goes).They're like a cool, mysterious older couple, who always seem to know something Reader doesn't (they know a lot of things they don't, but they'll reveal everything in due time...) (Victor and Raven know, too, and it's the one reason they haven't tried to kill Reader... with the information they have, why would they?)

Hank/Beast takes the place of Hudson, Gambit takes the place of Brooklyn, Kurt takes the place of Broadway, Evan takes the place of Lexington... Bronx, I'm not sure if any of the X-Men had a pet (I'm using X-Men Evolution for this, by the way), so I guess I can add an extra teen... so let's go with... Kitty (why not?).

Reader takes a new role, which is... different to Elisa's. They do some detective work, possibly, but as a teen, maybe. Or maybe they're an assistant to Xavier. They could just be some random person who happened to stumble into all of this. But they take the main character role, I guess, who isn't a gargoyle (they were one in a past life, though, so do with that what you will)

Scott and Jean take the place of Matt Bluestone as well as Coldstone and Coldfire. They're Reader's older friends, (and are the reincarnated spirits of two of the long dead gargoyles from the Wyvern Clan Massacre). Rogue is also their friend, and is like a mix of Morgan the cop, the chief of police, and Elisa's family... (maybe she is related to Reader? maybe not? and she is Kurt's long dead sister reincarnated... so that makes her Raven's daughter, but a human in this new life).

Lance, Todd/Toad, Fred, Pietro, and Wanda are here, too. They might be a version of the Pack (a kid/teen version), they could be a gang similar to one in the series, maybe they're just also random people dragged into this mess. They are there, and that's that.

Now, I say this would have it's own 🌕Longest Night❄ AU, which would be where the adult gargoyles (the reincarnated ones too) are affected by a magical artifact, during the long nights of Winter, and go about surprise adopting (kidnapping) their reincarnated kids... And their gargoyle kids are affected too, but are in a hatchling/younger state of mind. So they aren't going to be much help to Reader or the others. Let's just hope the long nights ahead don't last... And if they do, how do they stop them?

(Ask any questions you want about this au, I'm working on it right now, the Haunted Mansion AU on a break while I work out the main au branch...)

[skibidi-mimic-division]

Hello? Anyone out there?

Are we recording..? Ok...good! Hello to any comrades and survivors out there! The resident human from Camera-Unit HQ here! I am reaching out to let others know that a new division has been created for the alliance in the honor of my companions! We are...The Mimic Division! Led by yours truly! Our division is committed to the alliance war effort and we are currently growing a database on the mimic populations that have appeared after the recent fall of humanity.

We are currently gathering information on these amazing species and are discovering new mimics nearly every week! If you want to contribute to our research efforts, feel free to submit your mimic sightings report in our private P.O box with an image attached!

The mimic division is currently overseen by me, the sole "unaltered" human in the alliance! I have three agents from each branch of the alliance that you can also talk to...as well as my three mimic companions and three adopted mimic kids! Feel free to ask my commander Veteran anything as well! We will try to reply as soon as we can on this private encrypted network. Until then, stay safe out there survivors! We will be victorious in the war and we WILL end the toilet tyranny! Stay strong! (Click!)

Video Recording Source: Resident Human

Reporting From: Mimic Division Headquarters --

We are the Mimic Division! We specialize in mimic warfare, well-being, and companionship! We started with barely any records of mimics existing and we have only started to grow our database as more mimics are discovered and recorded. We also have a safe haven for allied mimics to nest in a large warehouse at the main camera HQ. The mimics are lead by the resident human and their trusted mimic allies. Buddy, Pal, and Fiend were the progenitors of the mimic division and the packs and allies only continue to grow! Through teamwork, the human and the mimics have decided to coexist and live together. They work together for similar goals in stopping the Skibidis and their senseless massacres against everything that isn't a Skibidi!

With this strengthening alliance, the human and mimics hope to end the Skibidi war together.

Please adhere to these rules when contacting the division! .

Don't send anything overtly sexually inappropriate. This is not a mature blog, so questions like "who would fuck who" will be ignored. However, questions about mimic or human biology are welcome! .

Don't abuse the anon function to spam, harass, or send hate. The ability to send asks as anon is a privilege and it will be revoked if it is abused! .

Keep non-skibidi related content out of the inbox! This is a blog that is set 'in-universe', so they have no knowledge of things beyond their own world (and what I am willing to allow). .

Unless your OC is relevant to the Skibidi universe, do not send "how will ___ react to my OC" and the like. Those will be immediately deleted. Only Skibidi-based original characters are welcome and Mimic OCs are also welcome! .

Characters will only respond to an ask that will mention them. If you want a certain character to respond to you, be sure to mention them! .

The human goes by they/them pronouns and has no name! You are free to draw them how you envision them, as they are supposed to be a stand in for you! However, they are also a character you can talk to if you wish to do so! .

Art, submitted stories, and other medias will be tagged appropriately! For example, if you submit an image of a mimic in the middle of devouring a Skibidi: I will tag it 'gore'! If you don't want to see such things, be sure to have them blacklisted! .

You can ask me questions here too by saying "Hax" or "Cosmica", I will answer to either. I am only one person, so please be patient and don't badger me for an immediate answer. .

Don't specifically request art. I will draw art for asks that I feel deserve a visual representation on my own!

Current known in-universe affiliates!

+ The Filming Industry : Credit to @striderl + Elisa and Hypnos : Credit to @krystalkitdemi (More to Come) -- NOTES: Current timeline position: Pre-Origin's Release Post: Pinned Updated: 5/8/2024

[xylathesilkwing]

played the Time-Breaker DLC! confusing and both enlightening experience- spoilers under the cut below! It is my feverish ramblings and not professional at all, enjoy

-SAM LAAAAKE I thought you were evil Mr Lake but I only had you for a moment I miss you come back

-JESSEEEE JESSEE jessse hi. hi Jesse (insane)

-no fr though Petri Alanko confirmed that the music that plays during Tim (Shawn?? Jack?? I’m gonna say Tim) and Jesse’s introduction was supposed to be a 1:1 recreation of the music that plays in Quantum Break with Jack and Beth, and I just think that’s neat (going feral)

-the insane scribbling on the whiteboard in the trailer resembles the scribbling the real (original? currently dark place) Tim’s notes:

and since I think it’s confirmed that the DLC episodes are just attempts at Alan Wake trying to escape the dark place, did he see the OG notes and go “oh yeah, I could probably write something with that”? Did he predict what Tim would write that without ever meeting him? Is the multiverse real??

-also, “red headed woman” in both images. obviously in the DLC it’s Jesse, and probably is the same in the actual game (especially with the polyhedrons) but it’d be so cool if he also remembered Beth or those other versions he had seen

-this image alone down below?? listing off names??

obviously we’ve got Jesse, plus Dylan (Faden? possibly her brother?) and someone named Savage, but we’ve also got Lisa, Elisa and Liz being nicknames for Elisabet/related to it. Just sayinnn Beth could be part of that tooo (delusional) (hasn’t finished quantum break yet)

-anyways we continue

-the ocean view hotel is so freaky cool in this world??? The clocks leading you to different rooms, the FBC being present and posting notes on doors and cannonly being there, plus the ENEMIES? I’m afraid of the shadows in Alan Wake’s playthrough but these were also pretty freaky

-JESSEEE I’m sorry I’m just genuinely so insane about her im glad she returned

-while I can’t remember the name of the place she works for, i find it pretty funny she still works for a concealed/unknown agency involved with secret forces. went from supernatural events to the multiverse girl

-the time-sea-whatever outside?? insane. cool. wicked awesome

-“and another version of me got super powers” and it’s her lifting a forklift!! Love the control references, especially the Alien Guardian Angel one.

-“as you say, characters in a video game” METAA

-okay I had to put this here but Tim/Jesse shippers.. I see you. like I’m an avid Jessily shipper but genuinely I see the appeal

LIKE? Obviously this is most likely an homage to the fan theories of Jesse and Tim being echoes of Beth and Jack, but it’s also so interesting Alan-wake wise. I could probably make a separate post for this but like- imagine you’re Jesse and you’re seeing all these versions of a man some variant of you loved die gruesome deaths, and you’re feeling these feelings that aren’t actually /yours/, it’s. I’m insane it’s so freaky and cool and sad and ARGH

And for Tim!! your other versions were trying to find this girl and when you get there you realize that the feelings you feel for her aren’t actually yours either! just some version of you and some version of her that probably didn’t work out! I’m gonna go insane!

-the arcade game sequence was INSANE and I love it so much. I wish we saw more of that universe

-the universe with all the empty time-core-thingies?? insane, freaky, perfect.

-THE VOID? THE TEXT?

-okay so I might be weird for this but instead of thinking about The Master of Many Worlds I thought about the red headed woman I’m so sorry. definitely got caught off track but the way her name is LIS like the names list?? and she’s a DANCER? <—— I’m a dancer

-it was so freaky when all the text and numbers turned into Alan Wake at his desk?? but also so meta and cool?? insane DLC

-awesome DLC! North Star is my favorite so far but tbh this one was super meta I loved it

[shipcestuous]

Movie: Tranquille Donne di Campagna - 1980 (m/s,cousins,a/nep) (submission)

Hey Shipcestuous. ShipCestFan here.

Didn’t see “Tranquille Donne di Campagna” on your master list, so thought I would mention it in case you want to post on blog and add to lists.

TL:DR:

Five strong women of an Italian family do their best to protect their favorite son/nephew/brother/cousin, Alberto. And in the process, cestships (mostly sexual) develop. When the reprehensible head of the family becomes too much to handle, the women decide to replace him with Alberto.

DETAILED SYNOPSIS:

(WARNING: NARRATIVE AND GIFS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!)

An Italian language movie filmed in 1980 which centers around a sensitive and handsome young man around 20 years of age. Alberto is surrounded by beautiful women. There’s his mother, Anna – a stunning and compassionate brunette in her 40s. There’s his aunt Floriana – also a 40ish, year old, beautiful woman with platinum blonde hair. There’s Elisa, his younger sister, and Gloria, his visiting cousin a bit older than Alberto. Rounding out the beautiful women is Aida, the attractive and flirtatious 20-something maid.

All of these women adore Alberto because he is gorgeous and handsome, yet sweet and sensitive – almost fragile. And that is attractive to all of the women, especially his mother. Alberto’s father, Guido, is the complete opposite of Alberto – a sexist, misogynistic Alpha Male who basically calls Alberto a wimp every chance he gets and slaps him around. He treats all of the women as second class citizens, except his cousin, Floriana, whose ass he has to kiss. Floriana is a former, famous stage actor and the owner of the estate on which they all live. She has power and money, so everyone, including Alpha Male Guido, are subservient to her.

The film’s story line is basically a canon incest arc where each woman is trying to protect Alberto from his asshole father and, in the process, the women can’t help seducing him, or he seducing them or dreaming of seducing them. So throughout the film, Alberto finds himself being seduced by his “aunt” and cousin. He’s so close to his compassionate mother – who shares his sensitive soul – that Alberto dreams of replacing his father as his mother’s lover. And he has eyes for his sweet sister, too. All of this transpires through the arc of the movie, while the maid also gets involved. When Alberto’s father, Guido, takes things too far with his niece, Anna, Floriana convinces the rest of the women and Alberto that Guido must be stopped.

The ending elevated this film from average to above-average for me. I did not need a subtitled version as I understood the language, but I would recommend one as it’s difficult to figure out what’s going on by only observing the scenes. The film’s title literally translates to the “tranquil women who live in the country”, but I think it’s to suggest how methodical and without emotion the women plan and execute Guido’s demise. That’s how much they hate him, and how much they love Alberto. As the credits roll at the end, we see Alberto taking the seat that his father held at the head of the grand, dining room table. His mother, aunt and sister are all seated around him, gazing at him, while the maid serves him. The scene is definitely implying that Alberto has supplanted his father, and the women couldn’t be happier!

The film is billed as an erotic drama, and while it’s hard to take it seriously because of the over-the-top acting, mom (Anna), and cousin (Gloria), shine in their roles. Both, according to online research, were notable actors for the time. The sex is frequent. Every few minutes, someone is getting it on and they are usually blood-related. lol But it’s done tastefully, so I definitely wouldn’t put this in Russ Meyer or Tinto Brass exploitation category. It’s much more refined than that. But it’s a fun romp, nonetheless.

Here are some GIFs from the film with my comments and/or dialogue added for clarity.

[myloveforhergoeson]

hi hello u have given me permission to info dump, so here’s four fun facts about some of my btr ocs!

noah was obsessed with curious george as a kid, and still has a george stuffie! him and carlos eventually get all the curious george movies + episodes on tape

saylor and kendall write a ton of songs together. in my universe, passing time by heffron drive ft logan henderson is actually a sayendall/ kaylor (need to decide on a shipname for them) cowritten song and it ends up on a deluxe version of btr’s 24/seven album.

elisa has a scar in between her eyebrows from falling and hitting her head on a rock as a baby. if you look really closely you can see the divot.

wren and olive watch home alone every year for christmas. even when they are apart.

and now i ask for four hcs for daisy and roxy!

you literally always have permission to info dump <3333 the noah and carlos fact in particular is really getting to me... the 2006 curious george movie is one of the first movies i remember seeing in the theater !! also the jack johnson soundtrack is like an inside joke between me and my friends. i relate to them on the loving curious george train

saylorkendall... the couple that you are... i am so interested in their story and i'm so excited to see what you write of them in the future <3 there's about a thousand ideas for writing songs together i have bouncing around in my brain and i'll play them like a movie in my head until i get your take hehe

poor elisa!! that must have been so scary :(( i feel like everyone had like one freak accident as a child and knowing that about her humanizes her so much more than you already have been... god i love her so much

the wren and olive one has me falling to the floor and shaking my fist at the sky bc that's literally me and my sister rn both of us had to watch over the garden wall apart this fall when we normally watch it together 😭😭

anddd idk if you wanted four for each, but here's the first few things that came to mind

roxy has been journaling since she was 10! she started writing things down during the day to tell her dad when he got home from work because she was tired of forgetting important things she wanted to share. she also used it to cope with her tougher feelings when he wasn't around to talk to. it just kind of stuck as she grew older and eventually turned into the songbook-journal hybrid she has now. she's got a bunch of the same type of moleskin notebooks in her room in all different colors detailing so much of her life

daisy submits some of her artwork to the chesterfield county fair every year!! she's never won a blue ribbon, but she does love getting to share some of her favorite spots around chester through her landscape sketches. that's her main art subject, but sometimes she draws her friends and family for fun! she thinks this blends with her want to be a historian pretty well - she could sketch out the historical scenes she studies to help provide a visual addition!!

though cassette tape is her favorite music format, rox knows that's not super practical in her day and age... so she saved up the money from her job at the radio station and bought a bright blue iPod to download (read: rip from limewire) her more recent music taste. she's usually listening to music when she's alone; she doesn't really care for silence !

daisy's brother jay-jay is older than her by 2 years! they're very close and confide in each other about nearly everything. he's looking into culinary schools now that he's graduated high school and she's terrified of being separated from him :( they've been around each other their entire lives and she doesn't really understand why he wants to go to school so far away from their home

[guaxinimraccoon]

Were the higher ups in the colony more willing to sentence Toby to death instead of a more lenient sentence because of his mother’s history? Who in the colony actually knows the truth about Tobys father? Just those directly involved? Or does most of the colony know and they just don’t bring it up?

Good question!

Toby was sentenced to death because he stole a very important, sacred and magic book of the Colony's library. He stole it as a demand of the leader of a group of thieves that he used to be part of. So this wasn't Toby's first crime, but forgiveness was granted to him every time because he's close friends with Siri, the princess. I explain a bit about it in this post.

Because of his constant robberies and mischiefness, the higher ups had the book's theft as their last straw and condemned him to death by human. This decision wasn't really related to Elisa's history with humans at all, beside from the fact that, answering your next question, only a few people knew about Alex being a human.

The only people that know are Elisa, Stefan and about two or three of the higher ups that Stefan was closer with, people he knew wouldn't spread around to the others (Stefan is a soldier and holds a fairly respectable position). Therefore, the whole human situation was kept under the covers even from the royal family, very few people know about Alex, Elisa and the boys.

Hope all of this helped! Sometimes I get lost inside the details of my own trash.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Fat Heroines in M/F Romance: Quick Recs

For no particular reason, a few books I love where the heroine is described as fat/plus-sized/whatever, may or may not experience weight-related insecurities, but never loses weight and is always seen as super hot, not the girl who just escaped his notice until she glowed up, by the hero.

(I will add that I've definitely read many more books with this kind of rep, but it isn't always as explicit, and I wanted it to be super clear. And I'll probably add on to this later.)

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean. Callie is very clearly fat, and she does long for Ralston from afar... but largely because she was a literal teenager when she first noticed him, and he doing grown man shit with grown women. Once she's in his notice, he is obsessed, and is super worshipful of her body. Never has a man been more upset that a woman bound her breasts; he is PERSONALLY offended. He must heal them! With his mouth!

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean. Noteworthy for featuring a plus size model on the cover and stepback. Hattie is a total babe, Whit is absolutely about it from the moment he wakes tied up in her carriage, and she ties him up some more after that! I also really love the degree to which Hattie is embraced as a beautiful, vivacious woman who throws this man for a loop.

The Brown Sisters Trilogy by Talia Hibbert. All the Brown sisters are plus size, it's on the cover, and they fall into their own unique love stories. Personally, Act Your Age, Eve Brown is my favorite, but they're all very good.

*Get a Life, Chloe Brown features a heroine who has suffered from chronic pain all her life (and as a TW, the hero is coming off a relationship with an abusive ex-girlfriend) trying to get the most out of life after sitting on the sidelines for years

*Take A Hint, Dani Brown features a queer, witchy heroine and a hero who suffers from anxiety (plus the rare interracial romance with no white people) embarking on a fake relationship after being caught in a compromising situation

*Act Your Age, Eve Brown features two leads who are both on the spectrum as our heroine attempts to "grow up" and ends up ruffling allll the hero's feathers (also, a purply sparkly dildo is utilized super effectively)

All Scot and Bothered by Kerrigan Byrne. Unfortunately not reflected super well on the cover (though it is a beautiful cover otherwise) this book has a heroine who is fat, loves food, and is loved by a giant Scottish motherfucker who watches her eat chocolate and is like "this is the greatest trial God has ever bestowed upon me".

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. Heroine is a fat porn star with what is essentially an OnlyFans; she wants to break into vanilla cinema, and gets cast in a Hallmark-style Christmas movie opposite a formerly famous boy bander... who of course, is a BIIIIIG fan of her work. Also, bisexuality galore!

The Truth About Cads and Dukes by Elisa Braden. Our heroine considers herself plain, as does much of society; the hero is NEVER about that life. Before they're even engaged, she goes on a spiel about how he wouldn't understand her inner thoughts unless he's been inside her, and he does have a sadly aroused coughing fit.

Possession by Adriana Anders. Heroine and hero are actors in a PR marriage of convenience, with the specific stipulation that they won't have sex; and then he gets caught fucking a woman on camera, who looks just! Like! Her! Heroine's size is very clear; she's also Latina, and the hero is pansexual. She follows him to ~kink camp~ and they discover that they're actually quite! Compatible! One of the hottest books I've ever read, so body-affirming.

[imakemywings]

Sapphic Film Recs

So you read some books, now you want to watch some movies. Not all of these center F/F relationships, but they all include F/F or WLW characters. (Note: Mind your trigger warnings if you decide to watch any of these.)

Atomic Blonde (2017) - Lorraine is a British spy sent into Berlin right at the end of the Cold War to retrieve a list of agents that is at risk of falling into Soviet hands. While there, she makes contact with the French agent, Delphine.

Badhaai Do (2022) - A lesbian gym teacher and a gay cop in India decide to get married to get their families off their backs. Hijinks ensue.

Black Swan (2010) - Nina is an ambitious, competitive young ballerina who is cast as the swan queen in Swan Lake, but the pressure of the position starts to get to her.

Breathe (Respire) (2014) - A French film centering on the deeply charged relationship between two teenage girls and its violent ups and downs.

Carol (2015) - The classic sapphic Christmas film, isn’t it? In the 1950s, directionless young Therese encounters Carol, a stylish, wealthy woman in the middle of divorcing her husband.

Elisa and Marcela (Elisa y Marcela) (2019) - Based on a true story about a Spanish woman who created a male identity for herself to marry her girlfriend.

Fingersmith (2005) - The two-part miniseries based on the book by Sarah Waters. It tracks very closely with the novel! Susan Tinder sets out to befriend and rob wealthy heiress Maude--but gets more than she planned for when she starts falling for her mark.

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) - The movie eschews the explicit romance between the two main characters present in the book, but the love between them still shines through. An elderly woman relates to her younger visitor stories about Idgie and Ruth, a couple of women in love in 1920s Alabama.

Genius Loci (2020) - A trippy short film about Reine, a struggling young woman who has a discombobulating night out in her city.

The Half of It (2020) - Here’s your teenage drama film, drawing from Cyrano de Bergerac. Ellie agrees to help a boy in her school write love letters to his female crush--who happens to also be Ellie’s crush. 

The Handmaiden (2017) - Basically an AU of Fingersmith, this time the story takes place in WWII-era Korea and Japan. Young thief Sookhee enters the service of Lady Hideko as a handmaiden with the intent of robbing her of her fortune--but things get complicated when Sookhee develops feelings for Hideko.

Pariah (2011) - A gay Brooklyn teenager struggles with understanding her identity in an unwelcoming household and fights to grow into her true self.

Pistachio (2021) - A short animated film about having a crush on a straight friend and being bisexual. (Available here on Youtube)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) - Marianne is a portraitist called to paint Heloise before her upcoming wedding. While Marianne tries to get close to Heloise in order to capture her essence, she finds herself falling in love.

Princess Cyd (2017) - Teenage Cyd takes the opportunity to spend several weeks over the summer with her novelist aunt, Miranda. Over the course of the summer, Cyd discovers a lot of new things about the world and herself.

Rafiki (2018) - Two daughters of rival politicians fall in love, but struggle with the attitudes of their community in Nairobi.

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

Hello after all your raving about cleanness i finally read it and its sos so so good!! I trust your judgement extra now and was wondering if you have any more academia related lit fit that falls within the same general vibe?? Thnx ^^

AHHH yay!! I’m happy you loved it, it’s literally my favourite book! If you haven’t read Garth’s other book, What Belongs To You, I highly recommend. I like Cleanness better but it’s veryyyy similar (& follows the same teacher narrator). A little less emphasis on academia but still related. I also loved We Do What We Do in the Dark by Michelle Hart which also follows a student / prof. What We Both Know by Fawn Parker is a little academia adjacent (it follows a writer). Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shu Desapin has academia vibes too even though that one’s a bit unrelated. If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English surprisingly goes into an academic twist which I loved. Hope you enjoy these, but def read WBTY if you haven’t already!

[moonystoes]

I get that this is frustrating for you that Elisa doesn't share anything about politics, but there are many possible reasons why she doesn't do that.

1. There are nearly no posts that aren't football related on her account. It's her professional account and she seems to want to keep it about football as much as possible. She has like 4 posts a year at most that aren't her playing football.

2. She doesn't have to. It's not her job to inform others or educate others. That's the job of the news, which they do very well here. Everyone here knows what's happening and where I live there have been plenty of demonstrations. However, some Arab medias and especially Iran love to lie and twist what's happening here and produce hate against "the Western world" in general.

3. In France, it is totally normal not to say anything political as an athlete. It is mostly considered unprofessional.

4. She hasn't posted about any conflict. She hasn't posted anything about Ukraine, Sudan/South Sudan, Niger etc. or the elections in France. I know in the US, it's quite common that celebrities talk about who they support in public, but this is not the case in most European countries. Especially because most European countries have a wide range of political parties and you yourself have to decide who to vote for.

5. She's actually not that privileged. She's a masc woman, most likely lesbian and she has a migration background since she's French/Portuguese. France is not necessarily the most open-minded when it comes to celebs/public figures being part of the lgbt community. And while the combination French/Portuguese is not the most uncommon combination in France, I guarantee you that there will be people that do not consider her to be a 'real' French person. Portugal is poorer than France, which is why this combination of dual citizenship is not necessarily so well seen there. Yes, sure, she is most likely on the richer side, lives in or close to Paris (and grew up there) and is most likely catholic. For the US, she's white but that is not necessarily the case here. We don't necessarily put people in this kind of group, it is far more complex than "White, Black, Asian, Arabic". So e.g. Polish people are white, yet they are one of groups that had to endure the most in history. If you look at US history, you'll also notice why Italians and Irish in the US might not consider themselves white since they used to be considered as "not white". So, of course it isn't the exact same as Sakina for example but most people will still know that she's not just French and therefore not necessarily see her as a "fully/actually french". Even if she plays for France, was born and raised in France and as far as I remember never lived in Portugal.

6. The amount of hate she gets. She already gets a lot of hate for her being a masc woman, for her style of play, from the PSG fans and from the France fans on each and every single post that exists of her on Instagram and Tiktok. So, if she doesn't post or say anything, she'll most likely get called ignorant. If she does though, she'll get called performative and having "white savior syndrome".

This is in no way or shape meant to attack you or anyone else. I just wanted to explain her possible reasons since if I remember correctly you live in the US, are Arab, never lived in France or Europe in general and in a younger age group. This is just meant to show why she might not post anything since French/European culture and US culture actually do not have that much in common as many people believe. Again, it is not meant to attack or offend anyone and I'm not trying to start a fight or big discussion, I'm just trying to give possible explanations that Élisa might have.

Hey! Since your ask is a lot. I'd try to add my points and thoughts if I have some.

2. Iran isn't an Arab country, it's Persian but resides in the middle east. (Sorry I had to do it or I'll keep thinking about this all month 😭😭🙈). Secondly, Iran doesn't just make the west bad, they make every other country except their extremist dictatorship look bad. Iran has its own propaganda and disgusting government. But for Arabs (especially as one), it's not hard to 'demonize' the west when we get new news articles about one of us getting shot, harassed or basically disrespected. I wish I was joking but there was an Arab person that was just racially attacked this week in France, and I'm pretty sure Sakina reposted something about it in her story. I agree that some Arabs just follow stereotypes, but it's safer than just going there and becoming one of the victims too.

3. I understand that it isn't her job. But it also wasn't Sakina, kenza, le guilly, aissa's job to post about it either. But they still did. Obviously she doesn't have that big of a platform to actually change scores (THANK YOU KYLIAN MBAPPE AND KOUNDE).

5. I understand that obviously as a masc lesbian, things aren't going to be easy for her. But I think that previous anon was referring the Palestinian genocide, not the right-wing issue. The reason why so many Arabs speak so much about palestine is because our country had been affected somewhat and we feel a connected outside of culture too. For example I'm from yemen and it's in a war currently as I speak, I lived through some of it as a kid and I don't want anyone to experience these things. That's why it's so easy for me to sympathize with Palestinians (i want to clarify that what yemen is going through is NOTHING like palestine!!). Thats what the anon was referring to when she brought up Elisa being privileged. Now speaking about her being Portuguese, I'm not aware of the conditions in Portugal or how French people view them, so I feel like I have no right to speak about her life as a Portuguese/french person. And in no way do I agree that Elisa is 100% privileged, at the end of the day she's a queer woman.

6. I agree with you about her having too much attention right now, but that's exactly why we feel like it's best to use her large platform. But I respect her being private for everything, she rarely posts about anything even a selfie is a rare sight.

At the end of the day, this isn't a major issue. It's just something that bothered me and obviously other people based on the anons. I'm not gonna hate on her or stop my fan account (is this what I am now 🙂🙂), I just would've been very happy if she did make a comment about it. I mean....at least she didn't post any zionist info, I guess that's something to be happy about 😭.

[rebeccadumaurier]

2023 Books in Review

a tiered ranking of all the books i read in 2023! originally i was going to write up my commentary on each one but then i was like hahaha.....no, so below the cut is just a list of the titles/authors in each tier instead.

changed my brain chemistry

The Idiot, Elif Batuman

Land of Milk and Honey, C Pam Zhang

The Borrowed, Chan Ho-kei (trans. Jeremy Tiang)

My Cousin Rachel, Daphne du Maurier

Vagabonds, Hao Jingfang (trans. Ken Liu)

The Membranes, Chi Ta-wei (trans. Ari Larissa Heinrich)

Under the Pendulum Sun, Jeannette Ng

Severance, Ling Ma

He Who Drowned the World, Shelley Parker-Chan

Vita Nostra, Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (trans. Julia Meitov Hersey)

Network Effect, Martha Wells

top-tier stuff

Our Share of Night, Mariana Enriquez (trans. Megan McDowell)

Brainwyrms, Alison Rumfitt

The Door, Magda Szabo (trans. Len Rix)

The Lover, Marguerite Duras (trans. Barbara Bray)

Fun Home, Alison Bechdel

Strange Beasts of China, Yan Ge (trans. Jeremy Tiang)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers

Pachinko, Min Jin Lee

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, Kim Fu

Tell Me I’m Worthless, Alison Rumfitt

Bliss Montage, Ling Ma

How to Read Now, Elaine Castillo

Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer

The Fifth Season, N. K. Jemisin

If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin

My Brilliant Friend and The Story of a New Name, Elena Ferrante

The Jasmine Throne, Tasha Suri

good, well-written

Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu

Life Ceremony, Sayaka Murata (trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori)

Yellowface, R. F. Kuang

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine

Assassin of Reality, Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (trans. Julia Meitov Hersey)

Witch King, Martha Wells

Tokyo Ueno Station, Miri Yu (trans. Morgan Giles)

Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler

Peaces, Helen Oyeyemi

Gingerbread, Helen Oyeyemi

Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir

The Pachinko Parlor, Elisa Shua Dusapin (trans. Aneesa Abbas Higgins)

All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Fugitive Telemetry, and System Collapse (Murderbot #1-4, #6-7), Martha Wells

Revenant Gun, Yoon Ha Lee

The Dry Heart, Natalia Ginzburg (trans. Frances Frenaye)

Gods of Want, K-Ming Chang

Paradais, Fernanda Melchor (trans. Sophie Hughes)

The Mushroom at the End of the World, Anna Tsing

Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced An Emergency, Chen Chen

The Hurting Kind, Ada Limon

Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie

An Unauthorised Fan Treatise, Lauren James

Upstream, Mary Oliver

The Art of Death, Edwidge Danticat

Meander, Spiral, Explode, Jane Alison

alphabet, Inger Christensen (trans. Susanna Nied)

Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates

flawed, but enjoyable

The Wicker King, K. Ancrum

Exit West, Mohsin Hamid

Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters

Flux, Jinwoo Chong

Bang Bang Bodhisattva, Aubrey Wood

The Murder of Mr. Wickham, Claudia Gray

Natural Beauty, Ling Ling Huang

The Monster Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson

Certain Dark Things, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Likeness, Tana French

The Cabinet, Un-su Kim (trans. Sean Lin Halbert)

The Kingdom of Surfaces, Sally Wen Mao

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On, Franny Choi

good, well-written, but not my cup of tea

The Good House, Tananarive Due

The Transmigration of Bodies, Yuri Herrera (trans. Lisa Dillman)

Roadside Picnic, Arkady & Boris Strugatsky (trans. Olena Bormashenko)

The School for Good Mothers, Jessamine Chan

At Night All Blood Is Black, David Diop (trans. Anna Moschovakis)

Family Lexicon, Natalia Ginzburg (trans. Jenny McPhee)

The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo

The Kingdom of This World, Alejo Carpentier (trans. Harriet de Onís)

Against Silence, Frank Bidart

flawed, less enjoyable

Tenth of December, George Saunders

Counterweight, Djuna (trans. Anton Hur)

Authority, Jeff VanderMeer

Comfort Me with Apples, Catherynne M. Valente

Babel, R. F. Kuang

The Genesis of Misery, Neon Yang

Carrie Soto Is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid

not ranking

These are nonfiction and they aren’t literature-related, so it just felt weird trying to rank them.

Visual Thinking, Temple Grandin

On Web Typography, Jason Santa Maria

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo (trans. Cathy Hirano)

[authorstalker]

My May, June, July, & August Reads

Prairie, Dresses, Art, Other, Danielle Dutton - I put this on hold because 1) I love Dutton's novel, Margaret the First, and 2) the cover art is so different and so great. I really enjoyed the experience of reading PDAO; it made me feel smart, like I was back in school. That said, I also had to skim some of the "Art" section because it went over my head. I was most engrossed by the short stories in "Prairie" and the collection of literary dress quotes in "Dresses." In a fun coincidence, I had just started reading Lolly Willowes, and one of the dress quotes is pulled from that novel. Keep doing you, Danielle Dutton—I love your weird brain.

Lolly Willowes: or, The Loving Huntsman, Sylvia Townsend Warner - Another book I picked up because 1) I enjoyed a different novel by the author (in this case, Warner's Black Death nun book, The Corner That Held Them) and 2) the cover art called to me (in this case, witches flying on brooms across a hideous yellow background). Lolly Willowes is a wild ride—it was the first-ever book selected by the Book of the Month Club!—and yes, there are witches.

Beautyland, Marie-Helene Bertino - It took me longer than expected to get invested in this, for which I blame my tragic attention span, but I was hooked as soon as the protagonist started her high school years. A beautiful character, the most beautiful writing, and of course I cried buckets.

The Alternatives, Caoilinn Hughes - A novel about four sisters! Set in Ireland! It's funny and cynical! Unfortunately it lost my interest for a hot second 3/4 of the way through, but the insane ending saved the day.

Any Person Is the Only Self: Essays, Elisa Gabbert - An all-time favorite. If reading is central to your identity, you must get this book.

Grief Is for People, Sloane Crosley - I will think about the Grand Central Station scene forever. Yes, this book is very sad, but also there's a lot of publishing industry gossip. After you read it, I highly recommend listening to her interview on the Longform podcast.

Tom Lake, Ann Patchett - Some people, including people I know, did not enjoy this novel, and I simply can't relate. I loved every page, every character, every relationship, the Michigan setting, learning about the play Our Town and sewing and harvesting cherries. I loved it so much that I'm going to see Our Town on Broadway next month; Katie Holmes is playing Mrs. Webb and my first thought was, "Wow.....Joey Potter aged out of playing Emily, we are all so old." Thank you, Ann Patchett!

[throne-for-queens]

Sandra and anons, you were so right when you said you felt it was a last minute decision because the video didn't match the message of the song. Especially when you said "it's like taking waste love and putting the Diablo music video over it, it just doesn't fit."! Saying that after he tweeted this: "my friend SamTCahill pulled this off last minute and directed a mini movie, i've watched him boss up and i couldn't be prouder"

If you care about my opinion: I think they were clueless about which direction to go with the video and Sam came up with Place Beyond The Pines. They took some artistic liberties to accommodate Bunnie story (she is now choosing a surrogate), Jelly Roll story (daughter born when he was jailed) and his story (never been able to be romantic with his lover while she had a big belly).

Him and the XX team are very close and share a lot of personal and private stuff. This is speculation now: I think Kells opened up in details with all of his team (including the ones that were not around before) about how 2014/2015 really went down. So if he cared about the movie, they must know why.

Now, I could be wrong, but usually Elisa Jane never ever styles Megan and why would she, she doesn't need a MF when she has MGK but also pop icons like Shakira and Beyoncé in her portfolio... she's on a whole other level. But if she did style her before, alone or in couple, don't hesitate to correct me. I only know she styled her for this video clip: we know nothing about their relationship (or lack there of... Elisa and his daughter very seem close tho, Nicole J. too) but they always seemed to have kept a distance, at least on every vid ever that caught them being near one another. Despite that, I can see Elisa closing an eye for the sake of this clip and go for it just to get the project done.

When it comes to Sam, the movie has amazing cinematography so even if you don't relate to the plot (idk, maybe he does too, who knows?), if you are an expert you can still appreciate the outsanding camera work. Yes, that movie IS a great bonding opportunity, there's something for everybody. Not a camera expert here at all, but the bank robbery scene must have been one of the hardest to shoot in the movie and I bet was very difficult to recreate too. And props to them, Sam and Kells did it perfectly, everything the same, only difference are the weapons!

Sam did a good job, I can appreciate the creativity and the cinema of it all. Concerning Megan and Elisa, I don't know if she's ever dressed Megan beyond this video. I'm actually surprised Megan and Maeve seemed to have broken up, because I think that aside from her relationship with colson, Maeve has made Megan fashionably relevant.

Also I agree with your opinion on them not knowing what direction to take the video. I think because they wanted to release them as a package deal, it didn't give a lot of time to get a vibe with the song and how it was going to be perceived.

[silvermoon424]

Saw that you like Madoka and I was wondering, who are your favorite Witches or Uwasa? If you do have some then what about them makes them special in your eyes? Thanks in advance!

Honestly, I'm all about the Doppels! Witches are awesome too (considering that Doppels are their immature form lol), but I really love the concept of Doppels, how they relate to their magical girl and what they reveal about her, how they're used as a life-lengthening feature, etc.

My favorite Doppels are:

La Pucelle de Blancheur (Tart's Doppel):

My favorite Doppel. I just love how beautiful and elegant it is, and how it reflects Tart's pure heart but with a dark twist (as it's so pure that it basically causes people to go insane and confess their sins ceaselessly).

Ein Rotor Drache (Elisa Celjska's Doppel)

I don't really have much to say about this one except that I really love dragons, lol.

Totentanz (Mitama Yakumo's Doppel)

Another top-tier Doppel design, belonging to one of my favorite magical girls nonetheless! I absolutely love how elegant and fancy this Doppel is, yet still vaguely sinister. Its name, which means "Dance of Death," also calls back to Mitama's destructive wish (as to its abilities).

Campanella (Yachiyo Nanami's Doppel)

Another Doppel with a very cool design that displays the body horror aspect of Doppels very well. As its description explains, older magical girls like Yachiyo experience a more limited range of emotions, which causes their Doppels to fuse more with their bodies.

Kriemhild Gretchen (Madoka Kaname's Doppel)

This one gets extra points for being based on an old InuCurry design from the PSP game (Mami, Kyoko, and Homura's Doppels are the same). I love how regal and imposing this giant Soul Gem is, especially since it takes out a chunk of Madoka's chest when it's manifested. Definitely a much more interesting iteration of Kriemhild Gretchen than the mass of shadow we saw in the anime!